The captain had been lost in thought, forehead leaning on his arm as he peered out into the cool grey mist of the Bay. He let out a breath, briefly fogging the transparent titanium which comprised the wide expanse of the wall at Headquarters. The eyes reflected there narrowed a bit. Admiral Waverleigh had put him in a position. A bad position.
He knew first-time starship commanders never got to pick their new command crews. He knew that but still, to have to say to his friends, his comrades, the men and women who had saved his ass time and time again that on this, the moment of his greatest achievement, he couldn't share the moment with them was disappointing, to say the least. Instead, he was being drawn in with a bunch of strangers. He had no idea what to expect from them. Obviously they were all competent, otherwise well, they wouldn't be here.
Speaking of them being here, where.... a voice called out, breaking him from his thoughts, a firm feminine voice.
Commander Caro, hm? Adams turned and faced her, smiling slightly. There was being polite and then there was stretching it. She probably hadn't wanted to bother him and instead opted for the loud voice style of introduction. Interesting. Being a captain, he decided he might as well take the initiative himself. That in mind, he strode towards her, purposeful strides carrying him to her. He reached out a thick hand to her. Some traditions die hard.
"Commander Caro, a pleasure to meet you. Com...Captain Ben Adams." He smiled but winced inwardly. Damn, that half stripe of braid was taking some getting used to. He sized her up. Short, but not overly so. Pleasant enough face, strong voice.
"I apologize for being the lone member of the welcoming committee. It seems the rest of the senior staff is...well, not here at the moment. Hopefully that will be changing...soon." If she was adept at all at reading somebody's body language, she might notice a little tightening of the muscles on the last note. Obviously the captain was not thrilled at the situation he found himself in.
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